In Masquisard (Masque/Mask + Maquisard: resistance fighters from the underground), Toutou Ditchou rekindles the resistance against colonial rule in Cameroon. Between 1955 and 1971, many of the independence fighters were beheaded. No memorial commemorates this. “The Masquisards wanted total independence and fought for it. But those who got involved with the former colonial rulers remained in power”(Toutou Ditchou). Before French colonial rule, Cameroon was a German colony. The performance is being adapted thanks to the support of and in cooperation with the RAUTENSTRAUCH-JOEST-MUSEUM – Kulturen der Welt in Cologne. Masquisard is a catharsis to calm the souls in a dark chapter of Cameroon’s history and a tribute to the martyrs of independence struggles. “Silence still prevails today – in the past, it was even forbidden to talk about what happened back then,” says Toutou, who calls for a culture of remembrance. “There are no answers as to who beheaded the Indépendantistes, who were seen as troublemakers. There is still fear today…”, says Toutou. And it goes back to the colonial era and the transition to independence. Félix-Roland Moumié, leader of the UPC, the first political party to be truly independent, demanded unconditional independence (“indépendance sans condition“). He was poisoned in 1960.
Toutou Ditchou | Toutou le conteur (The Storyteller), born in Bangangté, is a Cameroonian artist who worked as a storyteller at the University of Dschang while studying oral literature at the Département d’Etudes Africaines up to his doctorate. Together with street children in Bafoussam and in collaboration with various orphanages, he has developed numerous performances for public spaces that combine song, dance and fairy tales. Toutou opened the MODAPERF 2023 International Biennale with his latest creation Masquisard.
WITH Toutou Ditchou | SUPPORT MODAPERF (Cameroon) | THE ADAPTION IN COLOGNE IS SUPPORTED BY THE CITY OF COLOGNE’S CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Masquisard takes place on 7. + June 8 in the context of the following event:
FROM BANDUNG TO BLM AND BEYOND. A weekend about global freedom struggles from Bandung to Black Lives Matter
The RJM sheds light on the Bandung Conference, a milestone for the liberation of the global South, at which 29 representatives from Asian and African countries met in Indonesia in April 1955, and shows the connections between the freedom struggles in Africa, South America and Asia, the US civil rights and Black Power movement and the pan-African festivals. All of these were not independent events, but part of a global struggle against racism, colonialism and economic exploitation.
7. + 8 June | Detailed program from May at https://rautenstrauch-joest-museum.de